More people to die from air pollution

The Climate Vulnerability Monitor 2012, a study conducted by Spain-based DARA International and the most vulnerable countries, predicts that the mortality rate from air pollution many increase to over 20,000 by 2030 from the 10,000 recorded in 2010. 

According to the report, urbanisation, industrial zones, power plants as well as other socio-economic factors have heightened the concentration of particulates in the air. Indoor, industrial and agricultural pollutants were highlighted, however, indoor air pollution was the most worrisome issue, as 40,000 deaths in 2010 linked to illnesses resulting from inhaling indoor smoke from home cooking fires and fireplaces. 

An increasing traffic and industrial areas in Hanoi has led to alarming increases in pollution in north of the Red River. 

Hoang Duong Tung, Deputy Director General of the Environment Directorate, under the Ministry of Natural Resources and the Environment, said the coal industry, thermal-power plants, as well as steel and cement factories are the main culprits. 

Quang Ninh Province, famous for its coal exploitation, has seen the most dramatic rise in pollution. Lead concentrations in the air are very high in provinces and cities with steel factories.

"We didn't notice that air pollution in Vietnam had got worse because the economy has been stagnant, especially in the building sector. If we don't do something to protect the environment now, in the next few years we'll have to face the same problem as Beijing, where 10% of its population has lung cancer," Tung said.

(tienphong, dtinews.vn )